


Against the Dying Light

by ZammyShad



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: AU where the Warrior of Light goes back in time to stop the Flood from happening :)), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, F/M, Riding, Vaginal Sex, plot AND porn woo hoo, tender love making all around guys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:00:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25764058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZammyShad/pseuds/ZammyShad
Summary: A sigh, arms collapsing around herself in a facsimile of a hug. What was she doing? She’d been here weeks already, time passing faster and faster each day and still, their path seemed unknown. Ardbert, the others - they had turned the creature’s head in with pride, cheering at the sight of gold while Earin stood to the side, not exactly unwelcomed but still too new, still a variable that formed a sheen of caution in the warrior’s eyes, the smallest of frowns gracing the corner of his lips.The only reason she had caught it in the first place was because it was so at odds with the smile he normally wore around his friends, and itcertainlywasn’t the self-same sneering smirk her once-enemy wore back in the Source.
Relationships: Ardbert/Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 60





	Against the Dying Light

**Author's Note:**

  * For [freyr](https://archiveofourown.org/users/freyr/gifts).



Early evening settles across the land gently and shy-like, the sky turning from blue to orange to black as if it had all the time in the world. Earin lies, still, on the edge of her bed for the night, exhaustion heavy on her shoulders. They had tracked down another mark, trailing by foot halfway across mountains that whipped rocks into the air and froze the dew against her eyelashes. Hard-fought, the air around them all thick with magic, but well worth it in the end; a sack of gil, two times heavier than the book at her waist and  _ vastly _ more expensive. It would house them for the night, feed them well before sending them off towards a more menacing target, one with a more sinister plan.

A sigh, arms collapsing around herself in a facsimile of a hug. What was she  _ doing? _ She’d been here weeks already, time passing faster and faster each day and still, their path seemed unknown. Ardbert, the others - they had turned the creature’s head in with pride, cheering at the sight of gold while Earin stood to the side, not exactly unwelcomed but still too new, still a variable that formed a sheen of caution in the warrior’s eyes, the smallest of frowns gracing the corner of his lips. The only reason she had caught it in the first place was because it was so at odds with the smile he normally wore around his friends, and it  _ certainly _ wasn’t the self-same sneering smirk her once-enemy wore back in the Source.

Another sigh, gaze falling away from the stars adjacent. Earin would need to eat soon, bathe and decidedly turn in for the night, ready to wake early and start their trek anew. Perhaps this time they could rent porters. With their earnings, it wouldn’t be _ too  _ far fetched to ask, surely.

Earin’s thoughts are broken when a gentle but sure knock sounds about the room. Confused and more than a bit accustomed to random encounters, good or bad, she rises to meet it. She places one hand on the tome still bound to her hips, the other slowly, carefully, pulling the door open and, and -

Oh. It’s ... it’s ...

“Ardbert.” He says, an upward tilt to his lips. He looks nearly playful as he says it, one brow raised as a hand settles at his hip, cocked. “In case you’ve forgotten.”

A warmth settles in her chest, new and floundering, like a sapling or newborn babe. “I remember,” Earin says in reply, letting the door swing open a little more, trepidation lessening. It was the right move, it seems, as Ardbert’s cerulean eyes flash and melt, seemingly growing warmer at the showcase of her welcome. 

“I wanted to say thank you, for helping us today.” Confident and sure, a gentleman through and through. “Aye, I’m not sure we could have handled it without you. You’re shaping up to be a real hero, eh?”   
  
_ Hero _ . She sure is.

“What I’m trying to say,” Ardbert continues, now shuffling his weight from leg to leg, brows falling and creasing in the middle. “Is that our friends are downstairs at the tavern and  _ you,  _ Earienwel, tend to stick to yourself after these things. Come. It’s about time you introduced yourself, don’t you think?”

Another brow raise, a nod towards the direction of the stairs. Earin, for all her worth, thankfully does not stutter, nor does she hesitate to step forward, the door closing behind her with a soft click. Despite the use of her full name, her shoulders are set and poised; elegant in a natural curve that highlights the subtle arc of her spine. There’s trepidation there, still too unused to this world and the friends that once bore axe against her, yet the notion he had invited her, coming all this way simply to ask her to dine with them, to celebrate with them ...

“Agreed,” she breathes, watching in amazement as Ardbert’s smile blossoms into something full and radiant, eyes wide as he looks up to her. “Especially when the invite comes from you.”

She doesn’t miss the soft flush that climbs his skin, settling high on his cheeks and across the bridge of his nose. Rosey in color and barely there, Earin can’t help but notice how human it makes him look. How vulnerable and young.

A vastly different person from the man who tried to kill her.

Her hand slips from her weapon. She’s safe, she knows, with him.

She always has been.

“Shall we?” She asks, nodding to the stairs. Ardbert clears his throat into his fist, his smile peeking from behind his glove. “Of course. Before Lamitt comes searching for us both. You would hate to see her mad.”   
  
“Oh, do tell.”

* * *

Time had slipped away from them both, Earin finally relaxing once the others began to turn in - First Nyelbert, then Brendan, followed by an exhausted Renda-Rae and a fond look from Lamitt as they one by one returned to their rooms for the night. Where the tavern was once bustling with life, song and drink flowing freely, now does it turn to something intimate, the crackling hearth a backdrop to the hearty laughter Ardbert can’t seem to form words around.

“And then, and  _ then, _ the look on his face!” He says, leaning across the table to place his hand between emptied plates and half-filled mugs of ale. “To find out it was your own  _ mother _ who hired a group of adventurer’s to save your sorry arse, the poor guy nearly fainted from embarrassment!”

Earin chuckles, a soft and flowery thing, as Ardbert shakes his head in fond recollection. Like this, he’s otherworldly; open and free and Earin thinks he’s gorgeous like this, as he’s meant to be. Surprisingly, it’s easy to do the same, something she herself isn’t accustomed to. The line of her shoulders droop, back and spine eased as lids fall, charmed and lulled into a peaceful trance, more than able to let her guard down -  _ this _ time.

“Earienwel?” Ardbert asks, a lopsided grin on stark display as he waves a gauntleted hand in front of her face. “Hey, you with me? My story wasn’t _ that  _ boring, was it?”

“Only a little,” she laughs, blinking back the memory of another life, another time, watching as Ardbert’s lips part in surprise, eyes blazing against the firelight. “Lamitt was right. You  _ do  _ have a penchant for rambling.”   
  
“Rambling? That was  _ art! _ ”   
  
“Of course it was. And I use an axe rather than a book.”

Ardbert’s grin couldn’t possibly get any wider, soft wrinkles making themselves known at the corner of his eyes. Earin stares, cataloging, her own mouth twisting into a subdued smirk, once again lulled into peaceful companionship.   
  
She doesn’t realize they’re so close, now. Doesn’t realize Ardbert’s breath is ghosting across her skin until it’s not, the soft press of lips against her own stealing it from the both of them. Time crashes to a halt, heart beating wildly within her breast ( and stars above, she’s certain Ardbert could hear it ) as the touch lingers, however faint it may be. The coldness from before, the wall she was convinced would never truly fall, not like it had with the others, crumbles in seconds and Earin thinks this is what it means to be cherished.

_ Oh. _

Their kiss stays timid and shy, and though Earin closes her eyes, she can feel the shaky smile pressed to her skin. It fades soon thereafter, lips parting from each other and trailing, as if unwilling, away. “Would you,” Ardbert starts, Earin’s eyes fluttering open at the raspy, airy sound. “Would I?” She asks, her own voice pitched to something softer and fragile, weak by no means but strong in the emotions swirling against her chest. 

Ardbert clears his throat, flush once again high on his cheeks. “Would you allow me to accompany you back to your quarters? For the night, I mean. Not that you couldn’t handle yourself if something were to happen,  _ no _ , but I, uh, would like to see you off.”   


“Ardbert,”   
  
“Yes?”   
  
“I would enjoy nothing more.”   


Suddenly, Ardbert stands from his seat, back straight as he extends an outward palm towards Earin, sapphire eyes twinkling in the dim light. “Then, Earienwel, allow me the honor?”   
  
She takes his hand, bare palm sliding against the leather of his glove. Sensual, soft, his grip remains warm and careful, nodding as he pulls her up and away, smile dazzling across his face. Like a young boy courting for the first time, nervous yet kind all the same. He takes a step backwards, stride sure even as gaze stays locked on Earin’s own. 

“ _ Earin _ ,” she whispers, breath caught at the display. “Please, call me Earin.”

“Well, Earin,” he starts, voice once again gone raspy and soft. “Shall we?”

* * *

Earin isn’t sure when their stroll turned into neither of them wanting to say goodnight, sliding into her room with the intent to talk until exhaustion took them both. She also isn’t sure when the conversation died on their lips, replaced by the taste of each other. It’s soft and new, and Ardbert leans her against the sheets so delicately, for once she feels like something precious in the hands of someone else. 

“Sorry,” Ardbert starts, breath dancing on her wetted lips. “I seem to be, ah, very  _ drawn _ to you.”   
  
Earin takes a deep breath, sitting upwards and pushing him back. Their armour had been discarded, loose clothes traded in a rare moment of greed under the pretense of sharing each other’s company well into the night. Their bond is close, closer than it was, but there’s still a heaviness to the set of Ardbert’s shoulders, nervousness etched into his face.

“Do you say that to everyone?” She asks, bridging the gap between them to run smooth hands across the exposed skin of his chest.

“No,” he starts, his own hands seemingly lost in knowing where to be placed, settling for running up and down Earin’s arms. “Only to the lady adventurer we  _ just so happened _ upon during one our hunts. The very same one who kept to herself for weeks on end. I was starting to think you wouldn’t stick around much longer.”

If only he knew. “You wanted me to stay?”   
  
A flash of hurt across Ardbert’s face, voice barely above a whisper. “Of course,” he says, gently letting one hand cup the side of Earin’s face. “I can’t explain it, but when we found you, I knew we’d found another one. Another  _ Warrior of Light _ . You’ve proven yourself thus far. You’re a part of our group now, and the thought of you leaving ... Something inside me couldn’t bear to fathom the thought.”   
  
It’s a much sweeter confession than she had thought was coming, and soon both their faces bear witness to blush, dusting across their cheeks and the tips of Earin’s pointed ears.

“Have I said too much?” Ardbert laughs, huffing even as they shift closer, Earin now reversing their positions, softly pushing to let Ardbert fall against the sheets. “I feel like I’ve said too much.”

Earin chuckles lightly, hands sliding reverently down the planes of his abdomen as she steals the words from his lips, kiss light and just as shaky as before. They’re new to this, both treading a path of _ too much  _ and  _ not enough,  _ eager and willing yet hindered by the notion of the unknown. Another kiss, Ardbert relaxing into the bed as Earin deftly swings her long legs to bracket his hips, the touch spurring him to once again cup the side of her face. It’s only when Ardbert parts his lips does she pull back, heart spiking and jumping to her throat as the warning of  _ you’re too close _ pushes through her mind.

Ardbert notices, looking up at her in resigned embarrassment. 

“May I ...” She starts, hands once again trailing across his heated, battle-scarred skin. “May I be the one to ... lead?”   
  
Understanding blooms and dawns across the other’s face, blue eyes dazzling with hidden smiles. “We’ll do whatever you’re comfortable with.” And _ oh,  _ does that send something warm curling at the center of her core. 

Earin shares her thanks by leaning forward and pressing another slow, timid kiss to his slack mouth, hands grasping the strong edge of his hips and letting fingers rest at the curve of his bone. This time, she lets herself melt into it, reveling in the touch of his hand against her cheek, thumb rubbing soothingly across her skin; their points of contact through the thin cotton of her shirt, the tips of her breasts barely brushing his chest; the heat from his hips, the fabric of his pants thick but doing nothing to stop the warmth radiating from his person. All of it creates an ache she can’t place, something hungry but unsure even as Earin parts her lips, deepening the kiss and signaling to Ardbert for more.

Their tongues meet, trepidatious. Yet when Ardbert makes a soft sound, a groan swallowed back, Earin presses forward, exploring the inside of his mouth with gentle, easy licks; a slide of give and take that Ardbert easily follows. Again and again, kisses traded as if they had all the time in the world, languid in luxury. Yet the heat building between them would eventually peak and crash, lips slick and swollen while chests heave for breath and Ardbert’s moving, flexing his hips upward against her and -

_ Oh. _

She can feel him, hot and hard as he strains against fabric. Earin’s stomach drops, flush seeping deeper now, while the camise suddenly feels too restrictive, too hot. Ardbert catches on, hands sliding to her neck, down her back and oh, _ no _ , the scars there twinge and ache something fierce.  _ Breathe, Earin. _ In and out.  _ Good. _

The laces on her back are loosened, falling to the side as Ardbert deftly undresses her, careful in every touch. Fabric rustles, and only when his hands tug at the bottom of her top does she acquiesce and pull away from their embrace, lifting arms upwards as he pulls. It’s thrown away, her chest now bare to his sight, yet his hands stray back to trace the ragged scars. Part of her screams to move away, this part of her kept away from so many, yet the other sinks into such a loving touch, the caress simmering the heat below her waist.

“You’re beautiful.” Ardbert says, hands sliding from back to her sides, running up and down as if he couldn’t quite get enough. “Absolutely stunning.”   
  
Earin can’t speak, words lost as she bends to seal their lips once more. Now, his hips are insistent, rolling against her on every pass of their tongues and teeth. Yet, despite the fire growing between them, their actions stay gentle and tender, even as Ardbert mumbles a soft  _ let me take these off  _ against her lips, breath warm and airy. Shifting bodies, a laugh or two, and suddenly the two of them are bare and Earin can’t stop the stuttered breath that leaves her as she seats herself, sinking ever so slowly onto his cock and feeling her wetness spread down the length of him, pulsing in time with the beat of her heart.

Ardbert’s face is pinched in bliss, brows furrowed and eyes shut, lips parted against the heavy breaths he can’t seem to get enough of. Vulnerable as he is, Earin can’t help but think of it as endearing, his trust in her not yet fully formed but enough for _ this _ , enough to lay himself out for her. Even as he hilts inside her, filling her up and setting her core ablaze, does he wait for permission, shaking as hands tighten around fistfuls of sheets.

Her muscles contract, squeezing, and Ardbert spasms. “Eari _ n-n-n _ , please.”

She takes one of his wrists, prying at the white-knuckled grip until he lets go, eyes now half-opened to watch incredulously as she guides his touch to cup her breast, a pleased sigh falling from her lips. The other hand soon follows, Ardbert greedily rubbing the pads of his thumbs across the dusky nubs of her nipples, rolling it in slow, smooth circles that has her hips rolling in an instant, the slide now easier as the stretch had settled.

And oh, that _stretch_ \- the pressure, the way his cock pushed into the empty space and claimed it for himself. It was maddening, Earin’s thighs shifting to push herself up, letting gravity slowly shove her folds around him again and revealing in the tightening of his hands, the line of his neck as he strained and hips pushed upwards, thrusting the last few inches to get as deep inside her as possible, throbbing against her heat and begging for more, more, _more!_

Earin feels dazed, cherished in ways she never could fathom. Even as their breaths grow labored and Ardbert’s moans turn to growls, his touch remains gentle. 

Her thighs strain, shaking with every push upwards, a whine breaking through her lips with the effort. It feels good, yet there’s something missing. She shifts as Ardbert’s wandering hands explore the planes of her body, desperate to find a better spot, to complete that ache that only grows with every thrust, every cry.

Ardbert does it for her, pushing himself from his back and holding tight to her hips, flexing his own on a hard  _ snap _ . Earin cries out, head falling forward and bending to rest atop his shoulder, hair obscuring her face and falling in wild strands around them both.  _ There, _ she thinks, slick growing between her legs and flowing down his cock,  _ right there. _ Ardbert huffs out a pleased laugh, lips finding her neck and pressing delicate, tender kisses to the darkened skin, open mouthed and uncoordinated.

“Please,” she asks, shaking in his arms as the pleasure builds, coiling tight in her abdomen on every thrust he makes to meet her. “Touch me.”

Ardbert listens and listens well, fingers sliding in a whisper of wind across her heated and sweaty skin, dancing from hip to the inside of her thighs, skidding around where they meet, joined, reverent and worship-like before they finally, finally, draw upwards, soaked in her juices as they slide against her clit.

The first touch alone sends Earin jolting, a stuttered  _ Ard-bert _ gasped between heaving breaths. His touch lacks direction, seemingly unsure, yet he keeps going, his ring and middle ringer ruthlessly teasing the nerves there. If he hadn’t felt her shake before, he certainly does now, Earin falling lax in his embrace as he takes over, thrusting on an even rhythm of snapped hips and stroking her clit each time he fills her, completely, again and again and  _ again _ ; hypnotic, intoxicating, overwhelming. 

It’s too much, now, Ardbert switching to let his thumb rub circles against her. His grip settles from her hip to one arm slung across her back, holding her to him with palm as it curls around her shoulder. The muscles of his arm lays ever against her scars, yet Earin revels in the heat of it, yearns for his soft and placating touch against every inch of her, every space hidden away from prying eyes - her body is hers, and so is her past, but now both are Ardbert’s, too, just as he shares his with her as well.

They’re both chasing their highs, peaks cresting as Ardbert bites oh-so-gently into the column of her neck, light enough to leave only a faded imprint but hard enough to pinch the skin, a desperation settling heavy on his tongue. “I need you,” he breathes, voice thick and dark, gravelly yet smooth and airy like velvet. “I need you to come for me, Earin. You feel so good, I can’t last much longer.”   
  
She wants to say then don’t, but the notion of him wanting her to finish first sparks the wildfire already building in her core, a gasp torn from her throat as head rears back, the edge of her orgasm right there, right there,  _ right there  _ \- !

His cock snaps up again, pressing into a spot that sends white stars bursting behind her eyes while the hand between them remains unrelenting as it rubs at her clit. His mouth at her neck, his breath on her skin, his touch firm but not rough, giving himself up to her as she does for him and she can’t take it, tipping over the edge and rushing forward to meet it, orgasm slamming into her so fast she’s nearly blinded by the sea of white that greets her.

She clenches, hard, and Ardbert growls, burying his face in her neck and closing his eyes against the tide of want as Earin gasps through her climax, her hips stuttering without a rhythm as he does the same. Uncontrolled rolls, wild thrusts now no longer deep but short,  _ rabid _ things that force Earin’s breath into sharp, shattering moans.  _ Ah, ah, ah, Ardbert. _

Her walls squeeze once, twice, and Ardbert’s grip turns bruising as he comes, cock throbbing and pulsing inside her, unrelenting. It feels like forever, Earin suspended in a blanket of weightlessness as he fills her, paints the inside of her body until, at last, his cock lies still and spent, softening against her as they breathe in tandem. They rest like that, pressed chest to chest and kissing tender, sloppy kisses into whatever ilm of skin they can find, too exhausted to move just yet ( or too caught up in the feeling of completeness, of finding solace in twin heartbeats rushing together and the dual ache that settles after such carnal desires. )

Earin moves first, pushing up and away and letting Ardbert slip from her, ignoring the mess on them both. There’s a twinge from inside her, walls clenching around nothing and yearning for him back inside. Ardbert, for all his worth, lies back in an exhausted sprawl across the sheets, uncaring for modesty as sweat gleams off skin, thighs splattered in her slick and come, some of his own seed staining his skin from where it had leaked around her.  _ Gods above _ , he looks perfect.

“I know I should be the one to clean us up,” he huffs, chest still heaving and lungs vying for air. “But I’m not sure I can walk.”   
  
He smiles, this easy, lazy, lopsided thing, blue eyes heavy-lidded and brown locks in disarray. Earin feels her heart grow, ready to burst.

“We’ll be gone in the morning,” she starts, leaning back on aching haunches as she extends a hand, similar to Ardbert’s own from before. “You’ll want to bathe, else you’ll be uncomfortable on our journey.”   
  
“Aye, how right you are. But can’t I enjoy you a bit longer?”   
  
An idea grows, causing eyes to turn warm and smile gentle, loving. “If you join me for a bath, perhaps you can.”   
  
She chuckles as Ardbert throws an arm across his eyes, groaning. “For what have I done in a past life to be so deserving of you, here, in the now?”

Their path lies ever onward, but as Earin prepares the bath for herself and Ardbert, she knows it won’t be too bad. Not with him by her side.

**Author's Note:**

> this was a fic for cee on twitter :)) thank you for letting me bring your oc to life!
> 
> if you liked reading this and would like a fic of your own, check out my twitter @ valistheas 
> 
> if you'd like to support me and my fics ( and keep me writing them while in college ), check out my tip-jar on my twitter!
> 
> and, as always lovelies, comments and kudos are deeply appreciated! 
> 
> thank you for reading! enjoy!


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